There has been this nagging thing that I have been searching through the instruction manual to try and figure out:

Does anyone know if the front parking sensors are suppose to be on by default? Mine only seem to come on when you hit the overhead button and then turn themselves off. They work fine when they come on, but having to remember to hit the button when parking is a pain. I remember in my XFR they were on by default and stayed on. Thanks.

Nope..you have to hit the overhead button when you want it to come on. It does however come on automatically when you start the car and select the reverse gear, or move slowly in Drive.

That is how they work on the XJ, and I believe all other current models.

I have no idea why they changed; I found them very useful on the older models for queuing in traffic.

Personally I am glad they made the change. It was always a nusiance when snow or some foreign object would trigger the front sensors.
I have no issues reaching up and turning the sensors on when needed.

Two things I have adjusted to doing when moving about in this automobile-#1. always locking the doors when parking; and #2. hitting that overhead button when parking.

Thanks all. Will just have to remember to turn it on when parking head-in. We have an Infiniti with the front camera and sensors that turn on automatically when you get close, just have to get used to doing it manually.

It won't take long to make the adjustment because you'll want to make sure you won't do any damage to the front and/or rear of your automobile.

Thanks for the explanation and I also have/had multiple cars that always turned them on automatically.

Damn near dented the front wall in my garage trying to get them to come on.
Seems like a bad change to me?
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I have a 2014 XJL and the parking sensors come on when I drive into and out of my garage.

They come on when you go into reverse (front and rear). My 14 does the same thing. Otherwise I hit the button when I need it.

Yea that's the weird part?
Why turn on the front sensors when the car is in reverse?

This very poorly done by Jaguar as it would be trivial to add the software needed to offer various options on how to set up the park sensors in different ways.

Do they work this way in any other car?
I have driven XF's and owned an S type and both of them operate normally.
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Why turn on the front sensors when backing up? Simple. How many times do you back straight up? Probably almost never. So, you are looking backwards to see where you are going but the front end of the car is swinging all over the place as you turn the wheel. Atleast when the front sensors are on, if you start to get close to something, they are going to tell you about it before you hit it. You can pull into a tight parking spot and check it out. As you near the car by your side as you are trying to get the car turned so you can move forward, you will hear it chirp to let you know you are getting close.

They look to the sides then too?
My other cars only looked strait forward.
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Yes, they look at the side. The first time I backed in my garage I heard beeps from everywhere. I have storage containers under my Gladiator wall mounts and the sensors come in handy.

I don't see a problem at all with the parking sensors. Both sets go on as they should and is logical when you go into reverse. For both side sensors and front sensors like if you are driving into a garage like I do. I pull into my driveway, swing left, back up, and drive straight into the garage as it is a side-load and somewhat hard to navigate in one turn. The ECO also knows when I am done since as soon as I am in the garage and the sensors figure out I am in front of the garage wall, the car shuts down. Not into ECO mode, it shuts off totally and retracts the puck. It does the same thing in the parking garage at the metro. I back into the space and it knows I am parked and shuts down.

Here is the where the parking sensors look around the XJ.
It does look to the side somewhat at the front too.


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It's not really a problem, but I've always found it to be a rather odd set-up. The front parking sensors on my Lincoln Navigator are always on and I like that better.

Dwayne

How does that fair in bumper to bumper traffic? Can you turn off the sensor or at least the beeping?

I can turn the system off altogether, but I almost never get into traffic where I'm close enough to the vehicle in front of me to trigger the sensors. I suppose I should clarify that I live in a rural setting but, even then, it doesn't beep until I'm within about 12 - 18 inches which is much closer than defensive driving instructors say you should ever be.

Dwayne

My 2004 XJ (X350) which I've had from new has front and rear park assist sensors, with the front always on at speeds less than 5MPH or some such. It's rare when the fronts give 'false' beeps. Typically, the rare false beeps are from nearby airbrakes. The car has been used in a mix of big city and rural areas. It makes no sense to me why Jag changed the park assist from always on in the X350's to having to be manually enabled on the X351's, and trips me up when I hop in an X351.